KIRAN SIBAL, MEMBER

Misc. Application No.959 of 2023 (Delay)

1. The applicant/appellant has filed this application alongwith appeal for condoning the delay of 283 days in filing the appeal on the grounds that the complainant is serving in the Punjab Police and is frequently posted at hard locations, as such, he did not came to know from his family members that the certified copy of the impugned order had been delivered to his residential address on 29.08.2022. He only came to know on 30.10.2022 that his complaint has been dismissed by the District Commission. Thereafter, he approached the local counsel on 08.11.2022, who after going through the record and judgment advised him on 20.11.2022 to file an appeal against the same. Thereafter, the applicant again got posted at hard locations and could not get in touch with his counsel. When he posted back to his home town, then he approached his present counsel on 04.02.2023 for the purpose of filing the present appeal. His counsel sought complete record of the District Commission pertaining to the consumer complaint in order to file the present appeal. Thereafter, the applicant again approached his local counsel to get the copy of record, who apprised his difficult in providing the same since the file of the applicant had been misplaced from his office due to lapse of considerable time. On 11.06.2023 he received information from the local counsel that the record has been found. He took the same from the local counsel and approached the present counsel for the purpose of filing of the appeal but he was not available due to Summer Vacations in the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court. Due to the said reason the present appeal could not be filed within the limitation period. The applicant/appellant prayed for acceptance of the present application, as the delay in filing the appeal is neither intentional nor malafide.

2. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the respondent has submitted that the entire story/grounds, as mentioned in the application, are concocted/cooked up by the applicant, with the malafide intention. The applicant has failed to explain that where he was posted at the time of final decision of the case and has also failed to explain the delay of each day. After denying the other averments made in the application, the learned counsel for the respondent prayed for dismissal of the application as well as the appeal filed by the applicant/appellant.

3. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the record.

4. As per Section 41 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, 45 days period has been granted for filing the appeal, provided, if any, sufficient cause is given for not filing the appeal within the prescribed period. Although the sufficient cause has not been defined in the Act because it would vary from the facts and circumstances of each and every case. This time limit has been prescribed in the Act itself just to expedite the matter in granting the relief to the aggrieved consumers and this cannot be taken as a matter of right and the courts can exercise its powers with discretion to condone the delay with proper explanation.

5. Further reliance is placed on the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court passed in “Anshul Aggarwal Vs. New Okhla Industrial Development Authority”, 2011(14) SCC 578 whereby it has been held that while deciding an application for condonation of delay in the cases under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the Court has to keep in mind that special period of limitation has been prescribed under the Act for filing the appeal and revision in consumer matters and the object of expeditious adjudication of the consumer disputes will get defeated, if the highly belated petitions are to be entertained.

6. Moreover, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in another case “Lanka Venkateshwarlu (D) By LRs. Vs. State of A.P. & Others”, 2011 (2) RCR Civil -880 (SC), after considering the entire case law on the point of delay, in Para -26 observed as under:-

“Once a valuable right has accrued in favour of one party as a result of the failure of the other party to explain the delay by showing sufficient cause and its own conduct, it will be unreasonable to take away that right on the mere asking of the applicant, particularly when the delay is directly a result of negligence, default or inaction of that party. Justice must be done to both parties equally. Then alone the ends of justice can be achieved. If a party has been thoroughly negligent in implementing its rights and remedies, it will be equally unfair to deprive the other party of a valuable right that has accrued to it in law as a result of his acting vigilantly”.

7. In the present case, the applicant/appellant pleaded that the certified copy of the impugned order had been delivered to his residential address on 29.08.2022 but he did not come to know about the same from his family members till 30.10.2022, as he was frequently posted at hard locations being an employee of Punjab Police. Be that as it may, this plea of the applicant is not tenable as it cannot be believed that the applicant did not get in touch with his family members on mobile or otherwise for such a long period. Hence, the said plea of the applicant is not plausible. The applicant has also pleaded that he approached the local counsel on 08.11.2022 for seeking opinion, who advised him on 20.11.2022 to go ahead with filing of the appeal but further delay has occurred on the part of the applicant as he again got posted at hard locations and could not get in touch with his counsel. He further submits that when he was posted back to his home town, he then approached his present counsel on 04.02.2023, who sought complete record of his case. The applicant alleged that it took some time to procure the record as the same was misplaced in the office of his local counsel and after procuring the same he tried to approach his present counsel but he was not available due to summer vacations. The applicant took an inordinate long delay in filing the appeal despite the fact that he was very much aware of the proceedings and the same was in his complete knowledge. In such a scenario, we are of the opinion that the applicant is having a casual approach and has not dealt with the matter seriously.

8. Since, the impugned order had been passed on 01.08.2022 and the certified copy of the same had been delivered at the residential address of the applicant on 29.08.2022 and thereafter this appeal has been preferred on 23.07.2023. The said fact clearly indicates that the applicant despite having knowledge did not swing into action, thereby an inordinate delay has been caused in filing this appeal. The explanation for the said delay is also not sufficient for condoning the delay. The very purpose of the Act would be defeated in case the delay is condoned without any sufficient ground. Consequently, we do not find any ground to condone the inordinate delay of 283 days in filing the present appeal. Accordingly, there is no merit in the application for condonation of delay and the same is hereby dismissed.

Main Appeal

9. Since, the application for condonation of delay has been dismissed, hence the appeal is barred by time and is ordered to be dismissed in-limine as time barred.